Sadie Kent

Raisin in the Sun

3 Character analyses

Walter:  Selfish

            Ithink one word that describes Walter is selfish. Everything he is concernedabout his himself, and if things are not working the way he wants to he willstart an argument. For example this quote is between Beneatha and Walter and hethinks that Beneatha is not doing enough for the family.

 I don’t want nothing but for you to stop ... – why can’t youdo something for the family? (1.1.118)

This quote isshowing Walter only cares about what he wants her to do and doesn’t care abouther other decisions.

Mama: Caring

            Thisquote is talking about what mama did with the money and how she was soconcerned about what was happening with the family that she bought the housefor the family. She could of bought something for her but instead she didsomething for the whole family.

Son – you – you understand what I done, don’t you? (WALTER issilent and sullen) I – I just seen my family falling apart today… just fallingto pieces in front of my eyes…We couldn’t of gone on like we was today. We wasgoing backwards ‘stead of forwards – talking ‘bout killing babies and wishingeach other was dead…When it gets like that in life – you just got to dosomething different, push on out and do something bigger…(She waits) I wish yousay something, son…I wish you’d say how deep inside you you think I done theright thing – (2.1.186)

Beneatha:Driven

            Ithink Beneatha is driven because she really wants to become a doctor and standout from all the other women at that time. She won’t let people say things toher she doesn’t agree with and you can tell she is going to try hard enough tobecome a doctor. This quote is about Beneatha trying to express her culture andshow her parents it. She doesn’t care what they think about her. [Assimilationist]means someone who is willing to give up ... in the dominant, and in this caseoppressive culture! (2.1.51)

Walter Lee Younger is a very ambitious. I choose this wordto describe Walter because he spends the first half of the play trying to getrich, he is a dreamer, he thinks that he can achieve a better life for himselfand his family but ends up losing the life insurance money. A example quote is“What's the matter with you all! I didn't make this world! It was give to methis way! Hell, yes, I want me some yachts someday! Yes, I want to hang

some real pearls 'round my wife's neck. Ain't she supposedto wear no pearls? Somebody tell me tell me, who decides which women is supposeto wear pearls in this world. I tell you I am a man and I think my wife shouldwear some pearls in this world!”

Lena (Mama) is motherly or protective. I choose thesewords to describe “Mama” because in the play/movie she is shown as a strictguardian for her kids wants them to have a good life. She is always lookingover kids and wants them to move up in society. A example quote is “I ain'trightly decided. (Thinking. She speaks now with emphasis) Some of it got to beput away for Beneatha and her schoolin' and ain't nothing going to touch thatpart of it. Nothing. (She waits several seconds, trying to make up her mindabout something, and looks at RUTH a little tentatively before going on) Beenthinking that we maybe could meet the notes on a little old two-storysomewhere, with a yard where Travis could play in the summertime, if we usepart of the insurance for a down payment and everybody kind of pitch in. Icould maybe take on a little day work again,

few days a week.”

Ruth, I would definitely describe her as a veryemotionally strong woman. Even though their marriage is going through somerough times and they are broke she manages to hang in there and put up witheverything. That takes a lot of power. “No. Mama, something is happeningbetween Walter and me. I don't know what it is but he needs

something something I can't give him any more. He needsthis chance, Lena.” This quote represent Walter and Lena’s struggling marriageand her fight to satisfy him. 

ChristianHolmquist

May19, 2009

English,Period 6

3Adjectives

Walter: Stressed:

 It seems like Walter is really stressed out in the bookbecause he basically yells at anyone that has a significant problem with him.He thinks that everyone is out to get him, and that by yelling at everyone andtelling them his plans it will help him out. Most of the people that he talksto ignores him or tries to change the subject and this stresses him out. “WALTER(Straightening up from her and looking off)

That's it. There you are.Man say to his woman: I got

me a dream. His woman say:Eat your eggs. (Sadly,

but gaining in power) Mansay: I got to take hold of

this here world, baby! Anda woman will say: Eat your

eggs and go to work.” Thisquote shows how mad and stressed out Walter gets when he is denied pity on him.He gets stressed when people do not feel sorry for him and instead tell him toworry about something else.

Ruth: Calm:

It seems like Ruth isprobably the calmest person in the book because she never really freaks outduring all the scenes. Even when Walter has lost all the money there are notmany lines from her that show that she is staying calm.  “RUTH (Wearily) Honey, you never saynothing new. I

listen to you every day,every night and every morning,

and you never say nothingnew. (Shrugging) So you

would rather be Mr. Arnoldthan be his chauffeur. So

I would rather be living inBuckingham Palace.”  You can tellin this quote that she is staying calm but yet also discussing the subject.

Beneatha: Independent:

Through out the bookBeneatha is seeking to be an independent women and is trying to becomesuccessful in doing so. She wants to be a doctor and in order for that tohappen she has to be independent. She possibly does not even want to be marriedif you look at this quote. “BENEATHA Get over it? What are you talking about,

Ruth? Listen, I'm going tobe a doctor. I'm not wor-

ried aboust who I'm goingto marry yet if I ever get

married.” She is a womenthat is trying to be independent and possibly not even marry which is in somecases bad because she will not have a husband. She is to independent in myopinion though.

Walter: Stressed, Walter isstressed throughout this whole book. He always seems to be in conflicts whetherit’s with his family, work or needing money. He gets stressed when they buy thehouse and are supposed to leave, when he gets his money stolen and when he istrying to figure out what to do while sitting in a bar.

“How come you always try tobe so pleasant”

Mama: Generous, Mama isalways being generous and nice by trying to help everyone in the family. WhenRuth and Walter have problems, she is there trying to help. When they have nomoney, she buys a new house with 10 thousand and gives Walter the rest of themoney.

 “Girl, you better start eating and looking after yourselfbetter. You almost thin as Travis.”

Ruth: Strong, Ruth showsthat she is emotionally strong throughout the movie. Her and Walter had manyproblems with their marriage and she fought through when he just left thehouse. She also helps out the family a lot with her support because they arevery poor.

“I got to go in. We need themoney.”

“Now that’s your money. Itain’t got nothing to do with me. We all feel like that.”

1. Bobo: Trustworthy
2. Travis: Pressured
3. Karl: Discriminatory

1. Bobo and Walter both entrusted all their money, $20,000 to Willy.Bobo and Willy were then supposed to go to Springfield; in order to obtain alicense to sell liquor, but of course Willy didn’t show, and now Bobo andWalter were left in the gutter without a penny to their name. Bobo couldn’t seethat this man that he’d barely known, was tricking them out of their money.Willy offered them a one-in-a-million chance. It was too good to be true, Boboknew it, but led Walter in, with the idea that it was the real thing, that thisnice man would lead two men with nothing else to their name except the moneythey could give into riches and a business selling liquor. Where then did theyend up? Back in Walter’s apartment sobbing over spilled milk, all because theyhad been to trusting with a man they’d hardly come to know.

“BOBO (Standing over him helplessly) Fm sorry, Walter…(Only WALTER'S sobs reply. BOBO puts on his hat) I had my life staked on thisdeal, too…” (P. 129).

2. Travis seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t like to seeweak. He wants to help out, but at the same time he wants to be like everyoneelse. He doesn’t like to be poor, nor does he not like to be left out ofthings. As enthusiastic as he is, Travis seems pressured to do the things hecan to show the world that he is not in poverty, that he is an average boy froman average family. Even though his actions appear generous, his intentions areclear.

“TRAVIS (Eating) This is the morning we supposed to bringthe fifty cents to school.

RUTH Well, I ain't got no fifty cents this morning.

TRAVIS Teacher say we have to.” (Pg. 28).

3. Mr. Karl Lindner, the head of the Clybourne Park ImprovementAssociation. His duty was to buy back the estate that Lena Younger had bought,but instead it was more so a bribe to be relocated out of the neighborhood fora larger sum of money. This feeling of discontent for the Younger familyreveals a dissent for them, and their race, upon speaking of the racial accidentsthat happen in certain white neighborhoods. He doesn’t want that to happen,only because he doesn’t want that sort of thing to come to HIS neighborhood.Also referring to the Younger family as ‘you people’, seems like an odd way toacknowledge ones family or persons.

“LINDNER (Folding up his materials) Well if you are thatfinal about it - . . there is nothing left for me to say. (He finishes, almostignored by the family, who are concentrating on WALTER LEE. At the door LINDNERhalts and looks around) I sure hope you people know what you're getting into.”(Pg. 149).

Beneatha:

I think that Beneatha can be described with the worddetermined because it explains her as a person.“Oh, I probably will ... but first I'm going to be a doctor, and George,for one, still thinks that's pretty funny. I couldn'tbe bothered with that. I am going to be a doctor andeverybody around here better understand that!”This quote talks about herdreams to be a doctor even though there aren’t that many women doctors. Sheminds that some people in her life don’t believe in her dreams but yet shecontinues to what she wants to accomplish. She really does believe in herself.

Walter Lee:

A word that can describe Walter as a person is prideful.He is always striving for what he wants and tries to make things better for thefamily. He envisions his family’s future as bright with his ideas and helps outin any situation where there could be a brighter outcome. “Sometimes it's like I can see the future stretchedout in front of me just plain as day. The future, Mama. Hanging over there atthe edge of my days. Just waiting for me a big, looming blank space full ofnothing. Just waiting for me. But it don't have to be. Mama sometimes when I'mdowntown and I pass them cool, quiet-looking restaurants where them white boysare sitting back and talking 'bout things . . . sitting there turning dealsworth millions of dollars . . . sometimes I see guys don't look much older thanme.” He is striving for a future brighter than the present one but hefinds it hard to achieve. But he still believes there could be a better life.

Mama:  

One word that really describes Mama in a simple way for meis wise. There are many hardships occurring during their time, including issuesin their own lives. But mama has faith in what the future has in store forthem. By making the right choices and knowing your mistakes, she feels therecan be many resolutions. “No ... somethinghas changed. You something new, boy. In my time we was worried about not beinglynched and getting to the North if we could and howto stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too .. . Now here come you and Beneatha talking 'boutthings we ain't never even thought about hardly, meand your daddy. You ain't satisfied or proud ofnothing we done. I mean that you had a home; that we keptyou out of trouble till you was grown; that youdon't have to ride to work on the back of nobody'sstreetcar You my children but how different we donebecome.” She gives clever advice and comparisons between life when shewas a child and that present time. She tries to show that the life Walter hasnow is very generous.

Travis: Eager

            Ithink the word of choice to describe Travis is eager. His character in the bookis a young boy who wants to try his hardest to allow himself to do what hewants in life. He wants to go places and be somewhere in the world and it isobvious by his attitude. He also gets very excited about new things and newopportunities. For example when he needed the money for the books at school hewas very persistent and excited. “This is themorning we supposed to bring the fifty cents to school….Teacher say we haveto.”

Walter: Self Centered

            Walter’scharacter displays someone who always thinks about the better for them selves.The only thing on his mind is money from the beginning of the movie. “Do youknow what this money can do for us? Mama Mama I want so many things!”  This is a good example of how throughthe first half of the book Walter had his mind set on using the money that wasin his mother’s hands to start a business of his own that was poorly set up andor planned out.

Mama: Humble 

            Mama was a very humble woman throughout the book. Shedisplayed no emotions of being boastful or even being excited and showing itwhen she knew she had a check coning in the mail for a large amount of money.“Now you all be quiet. It's just a check…. Now don't act silly ... We ain'tnever been no people to act silly 'bout no money” These two quotes are aperfect example of someone showing a humble mind state in which others wouldusually be very happy about and boast or talk proudly about.

Mama: Indomitable

The mother of the family is indomitable. No matter whathappens she will not be disrespected. She shows how she is indomitable in manyways. First, she will not allow Beneatha to speak of god as if he doesn’texist. Also, she will not allow Ruth to get an abortion, Mama tells Ruth thateverything will be all right and she shouldn’t worry about it. Lastly, Mama isindomitable because she will not take the money from Lindner.

“Son I come from five generations of people who was slavesand sharecroppers but ain't nobody in my family never let nobody pay 'em nomoney that was a way of telling us we wasn't fit to walk the earth. We ain'tnever been that poor. (Raising her eyes and looking at him) We ain't never beenthat dead inside.”

Walter: Cocky

No matter what, Walter is always cocky. During the entirebook Walter is trying to set up a liquor business. First of all the money thathe wants to use to set up the business doesn’t even belong to him. It belongsto his mother and she can do whatever she wants with it. Second, she iscompletely against alcohol and is unlikely to help him with a liquor business.But throughout the book he is sure that he will have a liquor business. Evenafter Walter knows his money is stolen by Willy he says,

“Gone, what you mean Willy is gone? Gone where? You meanhe went by himself. You mean he went off to Springfield by himself to take careof get- ting the license (Turns and looks anxiously at RUTH) You mean maybe hedidn't want too many people in on the business down there? (Looks to RUTHagain, as before) You know Willy got his own ways. (Looks back to BOBO) Maybeyou was late yesterday and he just went on down there without you. Maybe maybehe's been callin' you at home tryin' to tell you what happened or something.Maybe maybe he just got sick. He's somewhere he's got to be somewhere. We justgot to find him me and you got to find him. (Grabs BOBO senselessly by thecollar and starts to shake him) We got to!”

Beneatha: Headstrong

Beneatha gets into a lot of trouble because she is soheadstrong. She often fights with Walter because they have different opinions(not that hers are wrong). She also gets into a big fight with her motherbecause they have different ideals. An example is where Beneatha says,

“Mama, you don't understand. It's all a matter of ideas,and God is just one idea I don't accept. It's not important. I am not going outand be immoral or commit crimes because I don't believe in God. I don't eventhink about it. It's just that I get tired of Him getting credit for all thethings the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply isno blasted God there is only man and it is he who makes miracles!”

It’s hard because Beneatha shouldn’t argue with her motherbut she wants to be correct also. This is often how I feel and I’m beginning tolearn that sometimes you just have to suck it up.

I would describe Ruth ascontrolling. She’s not a bad kind of controlling, but she is always yelling andbossing people around. For example, every morning she’s in charge of waking upher family: “I say hurry up, Travis! You ain't the only person in the worldgot to use a bathroom!” and “WalterLee! ... It's after seven thirty! Lemme see you do some waking up in therenow!” Since Ruth is the only one inthe family who stays home during the day, she’s constantly cooking and cleaningand so everyone relies on her and all that responsibility pushes her to thatpoint.

            Walteris materialistic in a sense. All he wants with the $10,000 check is a liquorbusiness so he can finally have money and a “good life”. He thinks if he madeall that money, he would be able to buy fancy pearls for his wife, and a bedfor his son. All he really cares about is “stuff” in life, whereas Mama wantshappiness for her family. This quote from the end of the play expresses hisselfish mindset well: “What's the matter with you all!..... Hell, yes, Iwant me some yachts someday! Yes, I want to hang some real pearls 'round mywife's neck.”

            Beneathais somewhat naïve. She’s not very experienced when it comes to love and thereal world. “Get over it? What are you talking about, Ruth? Listen, I'mgoing to be a doctor. I'm not worried about who I'm going to marry yet if Iever get married.” Her doctor dreamis a little bit unrealistic, but she thinks she can do anything. 

Walter- Selfish

Walterworries little about others and often thinks only about himself. He findsthings in everyday life, and relates them to himself. For example the 100,000dollars his Mother receives from her husband’s death investments, he decides hewants for himself. He wished to invest it in a liquor store without reallydiscussing it much with his family. When he did do this, he ended up losing allthe money, and betraying his family only finding himself in more of a lose thenhe was before.

“Son, is it gone?Beneatha’s money too?”

“Mama..I never went to the bank at all..”

“Youmean.. your sisters school money.. you used that too? “

“Yessss!All of it… Its all gone..

Lena(Mama)-Secretive

Lenais secretive because she follows her heart, and listens to her own wants andbelieves. She studies her family and does what she thinks is the best for them.For example when she received the money, before giving a bit to Walter for himand Beneatha, she bought a house. All though it was in an all whiteneighborhood she thought a house of their own would be better. She’s secretivebecause she didn’t tell anyone about the house and did it all on her own as asurprise.

“Well-whatyou think your grandmama gone and done with that money?

“Idon’t know, Grandmama”

“Shewent out and she bought you a house!”

Beneatha- Determined

AlthoughBeneatha is a African American woman she still wishes to pursue her dream ofbecoming a doctor. She hopes she will be able to graduate from school now, andgo on to college and medical school. Even though its very expensive, she findshelping people calming and wants to make a difference.

“Howsschool coming?”

“Lovely.Biology is the greatest.”

“Iminterested in you. Something wrong with that? Aint many girls hwo decide…”

“Tobe a doctor.”

Walter: Alcoholic

Beneatha: Boastful

Mama: Careless

I thought alcoholic was the best way to describe how thecharacter of Walter was portrayed in this play because alcohol is what fuelshim. Almost every day he comes home drunk and the thing he would like to investin is a liquor store. “Walter comes in during this performance; he hasobviously been drinking.”

Beneatha is portrayed as boastful because she cannot seem tostop talking about herself or her heritage. She always brags and speaks aboutherself, seeming to not care about anyone else. “How much cleaning can a houseneed for Christ’s sake?” or “You are looking at what a well-dressed Nigerianwoman wears.”

Mama doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her and she justdoes whatever feels right. When the vender gave her bad apples she just said noand went to a different store. When she heard that the check was coming shedidn’t make a huge deal about it she just patiently waited. Mama is portrayedas a careless woman who just goes with whatever. “Well-whether they drinks itor not ain’t none of my business.” Another quote that shows this is: Ruth “I’mtired.” Mama: “Then you better stay home from work today.”

One adjective that explains Walteris ambitious because he was looking into the future and trying to open his ownbusiness and trying to make money in a business that he created. He wasdetermined to get this business also he wasn’t going to stop he was going to doanything he could do to get the money in order to open up his liquor store. Anadjective that explains Benetha is confused because like it said in thebook/movie she is always trying something new but never finishing it. And threwthe whole book she wanted to be a doctor but by the end she changed her mindand didn’t want to be a doctor. So I think she is confused about what she wantsto do in the future or what she wants to do, also she is confused as who she isas an African. An adjective for Mama is strict because she always wants toraise her kids by the book and nothing else. Also she wants heregrandson to live in a house that they own, not some crowded house that theyhave to share the bathroom with a whole floor of people, also where he can havehis own room and not have to sleep on the sofa.

Mama is very concerned about the other people in her familybecause she went out and bought a house for everyone to live in. She wants abetter life for everyone especially Travis since he is growing up in the slums.She hopes she can also use the money for her daughter to go to school. Anexample of her caring is on page 91 when she says “She went out and she boughtyou a house!”

Walter is a very short tempered, all around upset man. Hehas a job that he completely despises and a family that he thinks is trying tosabotage his dreams. All the time Walter is lashing out and yelling at hisfamily, telling them that they need to give him the money and that his mom isdrowning his dreams when she doesn’t give him the money. A perfect example ofWalter lashing out is when she tells Ruth on page 34, “DAMN ALL THE EGS-DAMNALL THE EGGS THAT THERE EVER WAS!”

Beneatha is a very indecisive person. Every so often shechanges her mind on what she wants to do and be in life. At times she wants toplay guitar then other times she wants to be a doctor. A lot of money has beenput into her phases of what she thinks will be fun. They talk about herchanging her mind when Mama asks on page 47, “How come you done taken in ityour mind to learn to play guitar?”

Amanda Leavitt

 English-2

Raisins in theSun-Character Response

Mama-close minded,the reason why I chose this word to describe her is the fact that she does have good morals, but her kids have adifferent point of view. The fact is, when they try to express their opinion,she gets really mad at them, and starts to believe that she is doing somethingwrong. An instance in the book is when Beneatha tells Mama that she doesn’tbelieve in god, and Mama reacts really badly, and she actually yells at her, andgets violent.  “You ‘bout to getyour fresh little jaw slapped!”

Beneatha-outspoken,she is very quick to express her point of view, either vocally or even just theway she looks and acts. For instance when she is having discussions with herfamily members she isn’t afraid to say what she thinks, and just lets her ideascome straight out of her mouth. Another instance is when she is dancing to theAfrican music that Asagai gives her, and in order to embrace her Africanheritage she dresses up in traditional clothing, and starts dancing, and inorder to reform she cut off all of her hair. “That’s up to George. If he’sashamed of his heritage…how can something that’s natural e eccentric?” 

Walter-ashamed, thereason why I chose this word to describe Walter is due to the fact thatthroughout this whole story he is very upset and uncomfortable with the lifethat he has, and that he will do anything he possibly can to change this. Forinstance one example when he shows this is when he was willing to give up hispride, so that he can receive the money from Linder for not moving in thishouse. He is willing to do this is because he is ashamed of what he has doneand the way that his family lives, and he’ll do anything he can to change this.“I’m going to feel fine, Mama. I’m going to look that son-of-a-bitch in theeyes and say…and you-you people just put the money in my hand and you won’thave to live next to this bunch of stinking niggers!”

Tony Nguyen

                         EnglishLA 10 Period 2

May 5, 2009

CharactersAdjectives

            Ithink that mama Lena is enigmatic because it’s hard to predict what she’s goingto do. Like when went out and came home, Walter asks her what she did with themoney. All she tells him is she bought a house with it, and that’s when Walterwas enraged. He went out to the bar and didn’t come home. Later they went outto drink tea and talk about this situation. Mama ended up telling him he gets6,500 because she only spent 3,500 on the house. But he has to put half in thebank for his sister’s education. “I paid the man thirty five hundred dollars down on the house. Thatleaves sixty-five hundred dollars.”

            Ruthcan be described as a generous individual. Through out the whole movie, she isalways nice to her husband and tries to talk to him. She tries to keep thefamily together because there are always conflicts between the family members.Like every time Beneatha causes problems with Walter, Ruth tells Beneatha tostop getting him mad all the time. “I look at you and I see the final triumphof stupidity in the world!”

            Beneathais an ardent person. She always seems to have to a lot of energy and ispassionate about her heritage. Like when she was wearing the African clothing,and was dancing in front of Ruth. She seems very passionate and enthusiasticabout her heritage. She was having a lot of fun dancing. Also she always hasenergy to start problems with her older brother. Like almost every time theysee each other, she does something. “How can something that’s natural beeccentric?” 

Water’s adjective is self-righteous.He always seems to think that he know best, and that he can muddle through, andthat because he’s in charge, he should do what he thinks is best, even withouttalking to his family. For example, when mama gave Walter the money, she toldhim to put part of it in the bank, and part away for Beneatha’s school. Hedidn’t, instead he gave it all away to that man to supposedly make more money,which just resulted in him losing it all. This isn’t a very good quote, but itshows that he is very strong willed and sure of himself. “No he don’t! Excuseme for what? What you always excusing me for! I’ll excuse myself when I needsto be excused!” pg 83

Ruth’s adjective is needy.She seems to constantly need to be told that she’s in the right. She can’t seemto do things on her own. For example, when she goes to get an abortion. She hasto be told to stop, and when her husband doesn’t tell her to, she goes to haveit done, and only didn’t because she saw the utensils used to… “ Your wife sayshe going to destroy your child. And I’m waiting to hear you talk like him andsat we a people who give children life not who destroys them.” Ruth then goesto get the child removed from her husband’s lack of care. (Pg 75)

Mama’s adjective is over expectant.She always looks and believes that there’s good in everyone, she doesn’t seemto understand that her children have grown up in a different world that shehas. Her life was a quest for freedom, and an everlasting one to try and retainit. Her children have none of those memories, none of those deep emotions.Maybe a better word for her is naïve. She doesn’t seem to understand about her children, and how and what theyhave become.” Your wife say she going to destroy your child. And I’m waiting tohear you talk like him and sat we a people who give children life not whodestroys them. – She rises I’m waiting to hear you stand up and look like yourdaddy and say we done give up one baby to poverty and we ain’t going to give upnay another one… I’m waiting … If you are a son of mine, tell her! … You are adisgrace to your father’s memory somebody get me my hat!” Pg 75

Walter: determined. Walter is determined throughout the bookto achieve his dream of making money for his family. He doesn’t always go aboutthis in the best way, but he does do all he can to make things happen for hisfamily starting off by trying to invest in the bar. “You see, this littleliquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured theinitial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see. That be tenthousand each. Course, there’s a couple of hundred you got to pay so’s youdon’t spend your life just waiting for them clowns to let your license getapproved—“ pg. 33

Mama: caring. Throughout the play Mama has the bestinterests of everyone at heart. She does something for everyone with the money,or at least intends to. She buys the house for the family, gives Walter moneyto set aside for Travis’s school, and gives Walter money to invest. Even whenWalter loses everything for the family she still finds a way to forgive him.“Yes—I taught you that. Me and your daddy. But I thought I taught you somethingelse too… I thought I taught you to love him.” pg. 145

Ruth: laid back. When things are a mess Ruth is the one thatusually has the least to say and more or less keeps to her self. She doesn’tvoice her opinions as strong as the other characters and basically just doeswhat she has to do. Even when she is pregnant and planning on getting anabortion she doesn’t make a big deal out of it and barely tells anyone abouther situation. “Walter, leave me alone! Eat your eggs, they gonna be cold.” pg.33

Travis: Innocent

            Travisdeserves this adjective because he doesn’t truly understand the world aroundhim. He is young and just wants to be a kid in the in-crowd. When he asked hisparents for some money in order to “donate to the poor negroes” he didn’t understandthat those words looked down on him, but rather he wanted to get the money sothat way he wouldn’t have been left out of the groups in his school.

Lina: Proud

            Thoughshe doesn’t understand her children as well as she might wish, she is still proudof them. I believe that she let her pride get in the way when she had beencontemplating what to do with the money. First of all she had bought a home,not openly caring whether or not it was in the white sector of town. Thatshowed her pride in the sense that she wouldn’t back down from living amongwhite neighbors that don’t appreciate the color of her skin. The second timewas when she had entrusted Walter with the rest of the money. I think that shewasn’t willing to let in the idea that her son would be so foolish as to giveup all the money in one sitting. She was too proud for it.

Joseph Asagai: Idealistic

            Hegave his own definition for this word: “someone who dreams and doesn’t give upon that dream”. He had a dream in Africa that he would someday make it out ofhis small village and lie in America, receiving an education to be proud of. Hedidn’t give up, and he didn’t think twice about his dream. Instead he tookaction and wouldn’t give up on what he wanted. When Walter commented onBeneatha and Asagai he mentioned that they would “one day in up in a prisoncell under lock and key” I think that perfectly demonstrated Asagai’s actionsin what he believes. It seems that Joe had made a similar impression on Walter.

Michael Thai

P.2 LA 10

05-14-09

CharacterResponse

            Thefirst character I choose is Beneatha and I think an adjective that fits herwell is indecisive. I believe that she is indecisive because she is alwayschanging her mind about things and can’t pick just one hobby and stick with it.An example of this is that she wants to take guitar lessons but the year beforeshe was in an acting group and quit and the year before that she was in thehorseback riding club. “ Lord child, don’t you know what do with yourself? Howlong it going to be before you get tired of this now-like you got tired of thatlittle play acting group you joined last year?”

            Thesecond character is Walter and a good adjective to describe him is irritated.He is always walking around in a bad mood and it seems like he is just waitingto explode on someone about anything. “ (Slams the table and jumps up) DAMN MYEGGS-DAMN ALL THE EGGS THAT EVER WAS!”

            Thefinal character I choose is Travis and he is very lively. Travis is livelybecause he is always full of energy and wants to do something. A few places heshows this is when he wants money for the poor negroes, running to get thecheck or wanting mama to open his gift. “ Whoopee- (He leaps up and clasps hisfather around the middle with his legs, and they face each other in mutualappreciation.)”